Packers? trade of Favre continues to spark debate Posted: Oct. 12, 2008 SportsDay Bob Wolfley The argument has not gone away. And the argument will not go away. ?Did Green Bay make a mistake trading Brett Favre to the (New York) Jets and sticking with Aaron Rodgers?? CBS-TV?s James Brown posed on Sunday to his ?NFL Today? colleagues Shannon Sharpe and Dan Marino. ?I don?t think they did,? Sharpe said. ?I think they needed to find out if Aaron Rodgers could be their quarterback in the future. When Brett Favre retired, that sped up the process. Now Brett has 12 touchdowns (going into the game against Cincinnati) and is playing very well. Now you have Aaron Rodgers with a sore shoulder. People are saying, ?See, I told you Brett never got hurt and Aaron always stays hurt.? ?But the Green Bay Packers? problem is not the quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It is their inability to consistently run the football and their inability to stop the run on defense. If you combine those two things, even if they had Brett Favre, I?m not sure they would be any better off because they can?t run it.? Marino disagreed. ?You know what? They shouldn?t have traded Brett Favre,? Marino said. ?Last year they were 13-3 with him and they went to the NFC Championship. What more (can) that prove? He?s a guy that still has ability. We see what he is doing for the New York Jets. He?s healthy. You have to go with the guy who is the veteran, who is there. Aaron Rodgers could be a good player someday. He?s still unproven. I?m saying they made a mistake trading away Brett Favre. ?I want to take a guy who is proven, especially in the fourth quarter. I?m willing to bet you the Green Bay Packers are not going to make the playoffs.? Sharpe said the problems with the Packers this season didn?t include Rodgers. ?Last year Ryan Grant ran the football well,? Sharpe said. ?Last year they stopped the run. Would Brett Favre run the football this year?? The Packers are 3-3 and the Jets are 3-2. Sneak attack Fox broadcaster JC Pearson thought the Packers exposed Rodgers to further injury by electing to call quarterback sneaks, once in the first quarter and once in the second. The first sneak resulted in a first down and the second resulted in a touchdown, after officials reviewed the play. ?I wouldn?t do it,? Pearson said, referring to the first sneak. ?I would not make that call and have Aaron Rodgers even take the risk of taking a shot in there that is going to aggravate that shoulder. You have Ryan Grant. Just turn around and hand it off to him. Korey Hall. You got big guys back there. You can?t afford to get Aaron Rodgers hurt because the guys behind him don?t have any experience.? On the second sneak, colleague Chris Rose said after the play was run, ?Once again, they are putting Rodgers in harm?s way.? Pearson responded: ?I really don?t understand that, especially when you?ve got big running backs like Ryan Grant back there.? Too much Glove The interview Pearson and Rose did with Gary Payton in the second quarter lasted longer than Payton?s stay in Milwaukee as a member of the Bucks. Payton, who spent most of his career with the Seattle SuperSonics, attended the game at Qwest Field and was introduced to the crowd before the start. On and on went the pointless patter with Payton during the telecast. Payton, who earned persona non grata status with some Bucks fans, has been a frequent guest on the FSN show Rose hosts, ?Best Damn Sports Show Period.? Question of balance Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, along with Dick Enberg and Randy Cross, called the telecast of the Cincinnati Bengals? game at the New York Jets for CBS-TV. Fouts marveled at Favre?s unorthodox but effective delivery as a passer. ?An incredible ability to throw off-balance,? Fouts said. ?He?s done it from Day 1.? Enberg asked Fouts if in all his years he saw anyone do that better than Favre. ?Just John Elway,? Fouts said. ?And I don?t think Elway threw it off-balance as many times as Favre does.? Call SportsDay at (414) 223-5531 or send e-mail to bwolfley@journalsentinel.com
